Three men drown after Singapore-registered barge sinks off Batam coast

SINGAPORE - Three men drowned after a Singapore-registered barge sank two nautical miles northeast of Sekupang, Batam, on Friday night.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said on Sunday that Indonesian authorities have recovered the bodies of one Singaporean, one Chinese and one Myanmar national.

It said there were nine people on board the semi-submersible barge named Posh Mogami when the incident happened.

Indonesian authorities have rescued the remaining six. Two were Singaporeans, while there was one Malaysian, one Filipino, one Indonesian and a Dutch national.

"It was reported that the semi-submersible barge was carrying out submerging trials at the time of the incident," said the MPA.

As the Singapore is the flag state of Posh Mogami, the MPA is investigating the cause of the incident with the relevant authorities.

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